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I'm a 63-year old father of three and grandfather of six with opinions on nearly everything. I believe in courtesy, common sense, and fair play. I love ballroom dancing, reading, gourmet cooking, and travel. While I'm opinionated, I'm not close-minded, and I welcome your constructive comments on my blog. My motto: "I have seen the truth, and it makes no sense."

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Monday, August 25, 2008

Thoughts About August 25th and Choices

Today is Monday, August 25th. It's a day pretty much like any other day in the Washington DC-Maryland-Northern Virginia area, in that I expect both good and bad things.

On the good side: the new season lineup for Dancing with the Stars will be announced.

On the bad side: global warming will take a sharp increase as he Democratic National Convention begins in Denver. I fear for whatever snow is still left high in the Rockies.

On the good side: the Republican National Convention won't start for another week, so we don't have to suffer double the hot air at once.

On the bad side: the Republican National Convention will start in another week.

I sometimes feel badly about being so cynical and depressed over the state of our presidential campaign. But when I do, I take a moment to reflect on all the politicians of both parties who have striven manfully (and womanfully, too, of course) to help me develop my attitude. I can't believe that a nation of almost 305,000,000 people can't come up with two better candidates than Barack Obama and John McCain.

Senator Obama is an inexperienced lightweight who is, in my mind, utterly unprepared to be president at this point in his life and our history. He may be an appealing candidate, and the selection of Senator Biden as a running mate will help paper over some of the gaping holes in his resume, but his appeal is all superficial. The man just ain't ready.

Senator McCain is a very experienced person, and a genuine war hero in a Congress notably short of members willing to perform military service (consider that Mr Cheney had better things to do than serve in the military during his college years). The problem is that Mr McCain is a Republican, however much a maverick one (whatever that means), and the Republicans under George W. Bush have done a magnificent job of hosing up the country and squandering our international reputation. Whatever his positive points, Mr McCain represents this legacy, I don't want it, and I don't think the country can take it.

The worst part about the whole thing is that - despite my strong endorsement of Nobody as a candidate - I can't not vote in November. Grumpily sitting it out without voting simply allows others to make a decision that critically affects me, my family, and my world. My four wonderful grandchildren will grow up in a world shaped by the next president, and my only choice for leadership is between John McCain and Barack Obama.

I'm depressed. How do I chose between two candidates, neither of which I can support in good conscience?

If you've got any ideas, I'm listening.

In the meantime, your best voting options over the next few months will be on Dancing with the Stars. You may as well follow along. At least you'll know what you're voting for.

And your entire future won't depend on it.

Have a good day to begin this traditional last week of summer. More thoughts tomorrow.

8 comments:

If you find a way let me know. My conscience leads me to the Obamination, but my heart says, stay home in Nov which is something I've only done once and that was because I had a business trip that happened spur of the moment.

I don't need to vote for either one of those men and I'm also not qualified to say if they're fit for the job or not. All I know is that CNN had a very interesting biography of Obama last Saturday and this Saturday its going to be McCain. I'll watch it too for the 'fun' of it.

Become a default Democrat like I did after Reagan. Remember the guy that said he was going to balance the budget and then ran up the bigget deficits ever, until now. Better tax and spend rather than steal and spend.

I'm depressed. How do I chose between two candidates, neither of which I can support in good conscience?

I see this sentiment a lot in my travels around these here inter-tubes, especially among Republicans/conservatives, not so much among Democrats... unless you count disaffected Hillary supporters. While I'm not a McCain fan, I just cannot support, or vote for, a guy with a resume as thin as Senator Obama's. That's just for starters. When you add Obama's philosophical and intellectual associations and influences (I'm thinking Alinsky/Ayers here, but one could add others), the decision becomes crystal-clear... for me, at least. We can survive four years of McCain, but I'm not so sure I can say that about an Obama presidency. I won't take the chance, anyway.

Another thing that gives me pause about Obama....who else is supporting him and, presumably, who will advise him. Tony McPeak (Ret. AF General and world class @$$) is a supporter and I really worry would end up an advisor.I'm very torn, though, on other topics I can't stomach McCain, much as I respect him. It really is a choice of least bad.

Now I'm really depressed after reading all of your thoughts. It's like choosing the lesser of two evils. Sometimes you have to choose the lesser one. And which of the two candidates is the lesser evil? It's an enigma really. Hesitantly, I have to go to the polls this coming November.